Hugh Pickens writes writes: "In 2007 businessman Russell Thornton lost his 3-year-old son at an amusement park. After a frantic 45-minute search, Thornton found the boy hiding in a play structure, but he was traumatized by the incident, and it spurred him to build a device that would help other parents avoid that fate. Even though most statistics show that rates of violent crime against children have declined significantly over the last few decades, and that abductions are extremely rare, KJ Dell’Antonia writes that with the array of new gadgetry like Amber Alert and the Securus eZoom our children need never experience the fears that come with momentary separations, or the satisfaction of weathering them. "You could argue that those of us who survived our childhoods of being occasionally lost, then found, are in the position of those who think car seats are overkill because they suffered no injury while bouncing around in the back of their uncle’s pickup," writes Dell’Antonia. "Wouldn’t a more powerful sense of security come from knowing your children were capable, and trusting in their ability to reach out for help at the moment when they realize they’re not?""

The raising of helpless, feeble, and feckless children will weaken our society. I suppose if I were the kind of jackass who would lose a three-year-old child at an amusement park, I might feel differently.

It's easy to call names, but the truth is parents have multiple kids who will from time to time simultaneously take off in different directions. Unless you are prepared to tether them, an occasional parental panic is inescapable. Best choice: don't take little ones with you. Second best: do the Disney thing, with id bracelets checked at the gate. If they live to get to the gate.

I only had one kid, sorry. Just the same, I think a firm protocol can prevent mishaps. By the time my son was two-years-old, he could be trusted approximate to unsheathed knives, hot coffee, &c. (and knew how to hold his breath until he could climb back out of the pool, though he hadn't yet conceptualized swimming.) By three he was actually quite competent and accomplished at solo perambulation.